Fluid sampler and container



March 17, 1942. B. ATKINSON FLUID SAMPLER AND CONTAINER Filed Dec. 21, 1939 @WL azimm' IBIIVENTOR I A'ITORNE'Y! Patented Mar. 17, 1942 2,276,914 rwm SAMPLER AND CONTAINER Burton Atkinson, Houston, Tex., asslgnor to Standardv Oil Development Company, a cornotation of Delaware ApplicationDecember 21, 1939, Serial No. 310,393

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a sampling device and container,

An object of the present invention is to produce an enclosed device which will obtain a true representative sample of a liquid stream.

It is a further object of the present invention to produce a device which will obtain a representative sample of a liquid stream and be unailected by any gas which may be entrained in the liquid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention may be seen from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing in which- Fig. 1 is an end view of a preferred modificabucket used in the sampling device taken along the line AA of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the double bucket taken along the line BB of Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawing, a unit I is provided with a bottom 2 and ends 3 and 4. Unit I is also provided with a narrow trough or sample catcher consisting of a bottom l and side walls 6-6 which are perpendicular to bottom 2 of the unit. The bottom 5 of the trough slopes with respect to bottom 2 of the unit and has an outlet 23 arranged in the end 4 of the unit. 'A partition I extends from the bottom of the unit to bottom 5 of the trough'cooperating with the trough to divide unit I into three compartments consisting of two buckets having a trough spaced between them. The ends 3 and 4 are each provided with a pivot B for purposes which 'will later be described.

Unit I is placed within a casing 9, the pivots 8-8 being suitably supported by the casing to allow the unit to have angular motion. One end of casing 9 is provided with stops Ill and II, which are so placed that bottom 2 will strike one of the stops after the unit I had been given a predetermined amount of angular motion.

The pivots 88 are placed below the center of gravity of unit I. If the empty unit is tilted as shown in Fig. 1, the center of gravity is to the left of the pivots and a moment is exerted in a counter-clock-wise direction about pivots 3-8. If, however, fluid is placed in the uppermost bucket, the center of gravity of the fluid moves to the right of the pivots; The weight of the bucket and its capacity are so proportioned that when the upper bucket is substantially full the moment exerted by the contained fluid will be greater than that exerted by the weight of the bucket and will cause a clock-wise movement of the bucket around its pivots, the full bucket moving downwardly until it strikes stop I0 and empties, and the other bucket moving to an upward position. If thesecond bucket is filled with liquid, the movable unit is forced to move in a counter-clock-wise direction until it strikes stop II.

Leading into casing 9 is an inlet I2 provided with plates I3-I3 which'serve to disperse the liquid stream entering the casing. Attached to casing 9 adjacent inlet I2 are metal sheets I4Il which cause the entering fluid to form into a stream having a long narrow cross-section for reasons which will be hereafter explained. Casing 9 is also provided with an outlet I5 and a sampling chamber I6 placed substantially below the movable unit I. Sampling chamber I6 is provided with .a top ll-and leading into the top H are two conduits, conduit I8 which leads from sampling chamber 16 to a point adjacent the inlet I! so that pressure between the inlet and v stream of fluid is lead into the device through conduit I2. The stream is dispersed longitudinally by means of plates I3I3 and is then converted into a stream having a narrow crosssection by means of sheets Il-Il. The stream from members I4-Il falls on movable unit I and causes it to oscillate in the manner which has been above described. Each time movable unit I oscillates the trough or sample catcher separating the two large compartments passes through the stream of incoming fluid and diverts a, portion of it into sampling chamber I8.

It will be obvious that all of a fluid stream or only a portion of it may be passed through the sampler in order to obtain a true, representative sample thereof. In any event, the size of the sample collected will be determined by the rate of flow of liquid through the sampler. Since the flow of liquid into the movable unit causes it to oscillate the device may be operated by any convenient means which will causea flow of fluid through it. Such means may, for example, be

the force of gravity or a pump or the difierential pressure caused by an orifice plate in a conduit.

It will be apparent that the liquid sample collected and the operation of the sample will not be affected by gas passing through it. That is to say, if a fluid mixture containing liquids and gases be passed into the sampler, it will take only a liquid sample and will allow the released gas to flow from it without in any way affecting its operation.

It will b evident that, if the movable bucket is tilted as shown in Fig. 1 when fluid begins to flow into the device, the double bucket will continuously oscillate as long as fluid flows into the device. If, however, the movable element I is symmetrical both in weight distribution and size and the flow of fluid is begun with the bottom of the partition I in a vertical position, it might be possible for the fluid to flow directly into the central trough of the device-without operating the movable element. In order to prevent such a condition occurring it will generallybe desirable to construct the movable element so that it is slightly unsymmetrical. A convenient way of doing this is to make the weight of one side slightly less than the weight of the other side so that the empty bucket will not perfectly balance on pivots 8, but the heavier side will fall.

down and the bottom will rest on one of the stops, either stop H or stop H, depending on which side is made the heavier. One side may be made heavier than the other, while the capacity of the two compartments is kept equal and this will generally be the most desirable cause to pursue. be desirable to have both the capacity and weight of one side less than that. of the other.

The gauge glass may be provided with a scale and the instrument calibrated so that the amount of fluids contained within the sampling container Il may be readily determined. The device may also be calibrated so that the amount of sample collected in container II in a. given time may be used to indicate the total amount of liquid flowing through the device.

It may be pointed out that, while in the modification of the invention shown in the drawing the inlet to the sample container is oscillated by the fluid being sampled that other oscillating means, either mechanical or electrical, may be used. If means other than the fluid stream are used to produce oscillation, the: shape of the movable element may be altered by dispensing with But on some occasions it may.

the two side compartments, leaving only the cenemon made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the shape of the central trough may be altered substantially, or an openended. tube may be substituted for the trough. It is therefore not intended to be limited to the .speciflc modification of this description, but to claim the invention as broadly as the prior art permits.

I claim:

1. A sampling device comprising a casing, a movable unit arranged in the upper portion of said casing, said movable unit having two compartments-with a sample receiving compartment arranged between them, a pivot attached to each end of said movable unit arranged to be supported by said casing, a partition arranged in said casing to define a closed chamber in the lower portion thereof, a conduit leading through said partition for conducting a liquid stream from the samplereceiving compartment to said chamber, a conduit arranged for conducting gases from the upper portion of said chamber to the upper portion of said casing, a conduit leading from said casing at a point above said partition, but below said movable unit, a conduit extending into an upper portion of said casing to discharge into said movable unit and a conduit leading from the lower portion of said sample receiving compartment.

2. A sampling device comprising a casing, separated into an upper, and lower compartment by a laterally extending partition, a conduit extending into the upper portion of said upper compartment, an outlet from the lower portion of said upper compartment, an outlet from the lower portion of said lower compartment, and a conduit fluidly connecting the upper portion of said lower compartment with the upper portion of said upper compartment, a movable unit arranged in the upper compartment, a pivot attached to each end of said movable unit arranged to cooperate with said casing to pivotally support the movable unit by said casing said movable unit being divided into two side compartments, and a center sample receiving compartment, an outlet for said sample receiving compartment; a conduit with its upper end arranged to receive fluid from said outlet and its lower end secured to the'partition for conducting fluid from said sample receiving compartment to said lower compartment, and a gauge glass arranged on the outside wall of said lower compartment with upper and lower ends in fluid communication with said compartment for visually indicating the height of fluid in said compartment.

BURTON ATKINSON. 

